Latin name of the genus and species of the plant claimed: Dendranthemaxc3x97hybrida.
Variety denomination: xe2x80x98MN98-89-7xe2x80x99.
The present invention comprises a new and distinctive chrysanthemum plant, hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98MN98-89-7xe2x80x99. This new cultivar was the result of a cross in 1989 between Dendrathema weyrichii and Chrysanthemum morifolim. More specifically, the breeding program which resulted in the production of the new cultivar was carried out at St. Paul, Minn. The female or seed parent of MN98-89-7 was Dendranthema weyrichii xe2x80x98Pink Bombxe2x80x99, commercially available from White Flower Farms, Connecticut having the following characteristics: (a) the plant habit is prostrate and the plant spreads via rhizomes to form a large mat after the first year; (b) the plant dimensions are that the plant has a diameter of about 1.5xe2x80x2 and is about 5-6xe2x80x3 tall; (c) the plant is hardy in zones 4-9 (Southeast)/Zone 10 (west); (d) the flower of the plant is a single daisy, having light lavender-colored ray florets and central disc florets with yellow pollen; (e) the plant has leaves that are dark green in color, with a very shiny leaf surface (glossy), and glabrous leaf margins that are deeply incised; and (f) the plant tends to rosette, needs cold treatment to flower consistently, flowering can be sporadic with gaps in the plant architecture and the plant is an obligate short-day plant. The male or pollen parent of xe2x80x98MN98-89-7 xe2x80x99 was a Dendranthemaxc3x97grandiflora which is commercially available from Yoder Brothers, Inc., Barberton, Ohio having the following characteristics: (a) the plant habit is cushion; (b) the plant dimensions are that the plant is similar to other cusion types commercially available from Yoder Brothers, Inc., such as, but not limited to the variety, xe2x80x98Soft Cheriexe2x80x99; (c) the plant is hardy in zones 6-9 (Southeast)/Zone 10 (west); (d) the flower is a single or duplex daisy, possibly orange or bronze ray florets, central disc florets with yellow pollen; (e) the plant has leaves that are similar to other Yoder Brothers, Inc. cushion series chrysanthemums; and (f) the plant is a facultative short-day plant. The resulting seed, identified as xe2x80x9890-287-326xe2x80x99 was collected. In 1991, a plant of xe2x80x9890-287-326xe2x80x99 was crossed as the male parent with plants identified as xe2x80x9889-409-19xe2x80x99, a University of Minnesota inbred parental selection, as the female parent and the resulting seeds, identified as cross number xe2x80x9892-321-19xe2x80x99, collected. In 1997, plants of xe2x80x9892-321-19 xe2x80x99 were open-pollinated and the resulting seeds, identified as xe2x80x9898-87xe2x80x99, collected and planted. The seventh (7) plant regenerated from said seed was identified as xe2x80x9898-87-7xe2x80x99.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal or stem cuttings taken during 1993 through 2000 at St. Paul, Minn. U.S.A. has demonstrated that the characteristics of the new cultivar as herein described are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.
It was found that the cultivar of the present invention:
(a) exhibits extreme hybrid vigor,
(b) develops, in its second and subsequent years after planting, when grown in the fall under natural daylength and without the application of growth regulators, into a flowering herbaceous shrub having a plant height of from about 2.0 to about 3.0 feet and a spread from about 2.5 to about 5.0 feet,
(c) exhibits, in its second and subsequent years after planting and during the fall season (August-October), a massive floral display,
(d) displays flowers which are slightly toned with grey, giving the flower petals a slightly altered coloration,
(e) exhibits superior winter hardiness, including frost tolerance, and
(f) exhibits self-pinching.
The xe2x80x98MN98-89-7xe2x80x99 cultivar has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions to date. Accordingly, it is possible that the phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in the environment, such as temperature, light intensity, and day length.
When the new cultivar of the present invention is compared to xe2x80x98Emilyxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,754), it is found to exhibit a more spreading and prolific habit accompanied with a massive floral display in its second and subsequent years after planting. Reference is made to Table A below which compares certain characteristics of xe2x80x98MN98-89-7xe2x80x99 to xe2x80x98Emilyxe2x80x99.